Essential Information
| Type | Talks and tours |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Date and Times | Every Saturday |
| Prices | Free |
Join an exciting performance and see maritime history brought to life.
Visit the National Maritime Museum every Saturday to discover a different character from history with their own fascinating story to tell.
Suitable for all ages and full of interactive fun, our free Character Encounters tours are a great introduction to the Museum's galleries.
Find out more about the characters you could bump into below, and check upcoming performances if you want to seek them out.
Meet the characters
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John Simmonds
John Simmonds (1783–1858) was a black sailor who served with Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Developed with John’s descendants and using over 40 years of family research, the performance will take you on a journey through the museum, from Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare CBE to the Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery.
John Simmonds plays an important part in bringing hidden black British histories into the mainstream, and exploring the histories of the culturally diverse crews that the British navy relied upon.
Meeting point: Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery
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James Robson
Explore Traders: the East India Company and Asia gallery with James Robson, a Chinese sailor who served on the fastest and greatest of the tea clippers, Cutty Sark. Find out about the struggles of the tea trade between Britain and China on your journey, and the impact of the 19th-century Opium Wars on both countries.
James Robson is an important character in revealing hidden British Chinese histories, and his story relates to Traders, our permanent gallery on the British East India Company.
Meeting point: The North end of the Traders gallery (on Level 1 of the Museum)
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Alice the Pirate
Meet Alice and find out about life at sea during the Golden Age of Piracy. Alice has found her way on board a pirate ship dressed as a man and will tell you what life is like as a woman disguised as a man at sea.
Meeting point: All Hands gallery
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Tamera the Time Traveller
Join Tamera as she travels through time and place exploring stories of encounter, exploration and endeavour across the Tudor and Stuart Seafarers, Polar Worlds, Pacific Encounters and Sea Things galleries.
Meeting point: Tudor and Stuart Seafarers gallery
Upcoming dates
| Date | Character | Times |
| 12 October | Alice the Pirate | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 19 October | John Simmonds | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 21 October (Trafalagar Day special) | John Simmonds | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 26 October | Tamera the Time Traveller | 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm |
| 2 November | James Robson | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 9 November | Alice the Pirate | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 16 November | Tamera the Time Traveller | 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm |
| 23 November | John Simmonds | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 30 November | James Robson | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 7 December | James Robson | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 14 December | Alice the Pirate | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
| 21 December | Tamera the Time Traveller | 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm |
| 28 December | John Simmonds | 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm |
Find more family fun at the National maritime Museum
What’s On
See all events for families at the Museum.
